Students in the National Honor Society at Warrenton High School did their best to simulate what it might be like to be homeless by spending the night of April 12 on the football field.Most students constructed sleeping structures out of boxes or brought blankets and sleeping bags from home. Some got very creative in building larger units for multiple occupancy or finding boxes with lids.While the event was fun for the approximate 30 students involved, they tried to remember the real reason they had sacrificed the comfort of their beds for a night.They feasted on peanut butter sandwiches and enjoyed each other’s company until the lights on the football field were turned off.“It meant a lot to take part in this,” said Alex Vogt, who camped out with his twin brother, Chris. “It reminded me and everyone there that kids our age have to sleep like that every night. It makes you appreciate what you have even more.”The Vogts, along with many of their junior classmates, used duct tape to secure their housing. At one point, talk of a pending rain shower surfaced, but the front passed elsewhere, and the night went on relatively uneventful weather wise.“It was an interesting experience,” said Chris Vogt. “It gives you a taste of what some people go through every day. Although we knew we had a home and bed to go to the next night, we still had the chance to step into other people’s lives for one night.”Juniors Rylie Cox and Allyson Haller spent the night in identical boxes with removable lids, cutting windows in the sides to communicate with one another.“Although it wasn’t completely like we were homeless, given that we also had some fun with it, it just helped to show us how some people really have to live with those struggles every day,” said Cox. “It showed us how blessed we are.”

Members of the Warrenton High School National Honor Society spent the night on the football field on April 12 to experience what it would feel like to be homeless. Many of the students created sleeping quarters out of cardboard boxes. Record photo/ Derrick Forsythe.

Warrenton High School Juniors Caleb Strauss works on constructing homes out of cardboard boxes during the homeless simulation held by the National Honor Society on April 12. Students slept outside on the football field overnight to experience what it would be like be homeless. Record photo/ Derrick Forsythe.